11 fresh jaundice cases in Shimla

Shimla: The state capital is facing persistent problem of jaundice outbreak with 11 news cases being reported on Wednesday. The total number of cases reported recently has risen to 126, a senior health official said.

Shimla chief medical officer KK Rattan told HimVani that nine new patients got registered at Deen Dayal Upadhaya Hospital here and three others were registered at the primary health center in Kasumpti. He attributed sewerage leakage as the main cause for jaundice infection and cautioned residents to consume properly chlorinated drinking water or use boiled water to avoid risk of infection. Rattan disclosed that after medical examination, the patients were found infected with Hepatitis virus-E(Heb-E) strain.

He said district health authorities have already asked the municipality to find out leakage in sewerage system to check contamination in drinking water. He also said that earlier such type of jaundice outbreak was reported in summers alone, and its appearance in winters hinted at impending danger. Meanwhile, MC officials called an emergency meeting on Wednesday to find solution to the problem. The meeting was also attended by Himachal Pradesh irrigation and public health minister Ravinder Singh Ravi.

The IPH minister asked house-owners who had not got sewerage connections to get the same on priority otherwise their water connections would be disconnected. He directed the officials of IPH, MC and health department to undertake frequent inspections of water resources, tanks and bawaris.